A Fresh Start
by CalinaCrafter
Summary: Matthew Bonnefoy is a young ten year old boy, who has suffered through agony in France, along with his two sisters and Papa. Now, he was on his way to America, where his family would be living with an Englishman and his son. Matthew has a lot to learn about America, and himself, but now, he doesn't have to do it alone.
1. Chapter 1

"Matthew, come now!" I heard my Papa call for me. I smiled at the sound of it. It was always soothing. Always soft.

"Coming Papa!" I called back, placing my bag on my bag. We were moving. I always found the term 'moving' sad. It wasn't fair. I loved France, and everything in it. I had a few close friends that I would now have to leave, but I don't think they're all that sad. They aren't even here to say goodbye, even though they live next door. At least I have my sisters with me. And Papa.

"Matthew, do you need help?" I looked up to see my eldest sister, Lucille, ask. I shook my head.

"No thanks Lucy!" I smiled. "I'm a big boy, I can be strong!" I insisted. Lucille smiled, before walking away. I could see my other sister, Michelle, packing some of her stuff in the car. We were moving to America. Papa had met a nice man who lived there, and now we're moving there. I don't know why they can't move here... But I guess the house isn't all that big for something like that to happen. I've heard from Papa that the nice man he had met had a son, who, as Papa has said, is going to be my new brother. I've never had a brother before. I wonder what's it like? Will he think I'm wimpy? I've always been teased because of my long hair and my strange little strands of hair that make a small curl... I hope I'm not picked on in America.

"Michy?" I said to my sister, she looked down at me, her smile placed on her face like always.

"Yeah little bro?" She asked.

"Do you think I'm gonna be picked on in America? I'm very shy... And some of the kids here say I'm too girly... And..." I couldn't go on. Not because I was too emotional, but because the list was too long.

"Nah. I don't think so. After all, you're gonna have a brother soon! I'm gonna have another brother! I'm so excited! But, still, we'll make sure you aren't picked on in America. I wish we could have done more here, but, you know." Michelle said sadly. I knew. She and Lucille had a reputation of being to nice and quiet, so, even their threats didn't work because no one would believe them. I believed them. Lucille and Michelle could be really scary when they're angry! It's terrifying! I've lived with them for ten years, I've seen their worst.

"Papa, we're going to be late for the flight." Lucille pointed out. Papa stared back at the clock, before growing scared.

"Merde, Merde, Matthew, Michelle, come along! Allons-y!" Michelle and I scrambled into the car. Then I realized I didn't have my polar bear.

"Papa! I don't have Kuma-" Lucille handed me my bear from the front seat. She winked at me, I thanked her, before cuddling the gift my Mama had given me before the fire. I loved my bear. I've had him since I was five. Sometimes I forget his name, but I do know it starts with Kuma, so I just stick with Kuma. Lucille has mentioned that his name is 'Kumaijiro' but I forget so often... Except for right now. I looked out the window, seeing all the pretty lights. We didn't live in a large city, like Paris, but we did live in the city of Brest. In size it was a little bigger in Paris, but it just wasn't all that known. Even though it was pretty large.

"Papa, you haven't told us anything about the man we're gonna be living with. You haven't even said his name!" Michelle said, probably trying to start a conversation. She never was a fan of silence.

"Well, Michy, if you would like to know, the man whom we are going to be living with is named Arthur Kirkland. He has a son named Alfred. He's an Englishman, meaning he came from England." Papa explained. Lucille and Michelle seemed interested in Mr. Arthur. I myself was only interested in the son. Alfred. "Arthur and I met when I was in England... Dealing with my issues, three years ago. As you know I've told you I went out with him." I nodded. He always did go out with people, like, he went out with me and my sisters sometimes when he wasn't busy. "That's when Arthur offered the opportunity for me and my children, you three, to live with him in America. To start anew. I thought it would be a good choice." Papa explained, as he stared at the road. I smiled. It was sorta sweet.

"Papa. We asked about him, not why we're going to America." Michelle smiled, wanting the conversation to continue. Papa chuckled.

"Ohonhonhon, yes, you did, didn't you? Oh well, Arthur is a bit of a grumpy grump, however, he does have a kind heart. But, he cannot cook." Papa explained. I looked at him from the backseat. If Arthur had a son... does that mean...

"Papa? Does Mr. Arthur have a wife? I mean, if he has a son." I asked. Lucille looked at me, in shock. I wonder why. Papa frowned.

"Non. He doesn't. And, Matthew, I would like you not to ask about what happened to her, alright?" Papa asked, taking his eyes off the road.

"Oui Papa." I promised. I didn't know why he didn't want me to ask, but it must be a big secret. Like how Michelle and Lucille didn't want me to talk about Mama, and what happened. They said that it would make other people sad, so I had to keep it a secret. Unless if someone really wanted to know. Even then, I would have to explain it carefully. Even though I was only ten, I didn't know a lot. Well, I knew a lot of words, thanks to Lucille, but I didn't know much of the world. I would sometimes say the wrong thing by accident, and then everyone would get mad at me, even though I didn't know why. That's why I tend to be quiet. I mainly just talk to Kuma about everything. Whenever I talked to him, I felt like Mama was listening, and she was petting my hair, like she used to. She would kiss away my tears when I was sad, or hurt, and she would hold me in her arms, telling me about the angels that watch over us, and how they love us. I always thought she was an angel.

"Now, Arthur is a bit of a butt sometimes, in terms of speech. He does like to have fun though. And he will always put family first." Papa smiled. "I know he put me on that list as well." I looked out the window again. Papa and my sisters were talking about this Mr. Arthur. I wasn't interested at all about the Englishman. I only wanted to know about Alfred.

"Papa?" I asked, after silence had fallen again. Papa inclined his head for me to speak. "What's Alfred like?" I tried to raise my voice, that way I knew Papa heard me.

"I'm not sure... I have never met the boy." Papa admitted. I frowned, clutching onto Kuma. That was helpful. "The only thing I do know about him is that he's very excitable. Too excitable at times." Papa chuckled. I smiled too. Alfred must sound like, what's it called... A handful? Maybe. Never the less, I was super excited to meet him! I stared at Michelle, who was humming a very familiar tune. She named the little tune something like "Vacation" or something like that... I always found it a little calming. It came from her heart. Lucille found it a little annoying, mainly because Michelle hummed with every minute she had. I found it calming. Whenever I was scared I would find myself humming it, or if I wanted a small little lullaby to help me sleep.

"Michy?" I said quietly, Michelle looked at me, and stopped humming. She nodded. "What if Alfred's mean?" I asked, feeling a little guilty for asking. Michelle thought for a moment, before Lucille got her answer in.

"Then we'll teach him a lesson. We'll make sure he's not mean to you, or to anyone. Okay, sweetie?" Lucille promised. I smiled and nodded. "Besides, Papa wouldn't stand for that to happen. Right Papa?"

"Oui! Besides, he's a nice boy, from what I hear." Papa said. I nodded once more, a little happy. I looked back at Kuma before feeling my eyelids shut... After all, sleeping was like time traveling. In one pitch of a dream, you're in the future.

* * *

I felt myself be shaken awake by Michelle, and my eyes opened. The light blasted into them, but at least I woke up quickly. Were we at the airport? Why do the seats feel different?

"Man, you really were tried weren't you Mattie?" Michelle asked, I stared at her confused. "You slept through the whooole airport experience and on the plane. Luckily, Lucille took care of everything for you. You better thank her!" I was shocked. How could I have slept for that long? I had been hoping to see the sky... But, that doesn't explain why the seats are so weird.

"Why aren't we in Papa's car?" I asked hazily, before I heard a laugh.

"Matthew? You're awake!" Papa smiled at me from the passenger seat. Why was Papa in passenger seat? Then I saw who was driving. It was a blonde man, like Papa, but he had short hair, and...

"Eyebrows." I whispered under my breath in shock. Michelle heard me and laughed.

"Oh, he's awake? Sorry I can't look at you chap, but pleased to meet you." He had a British accent, just like Papa said he would have. I kept my mouth shut. Now that the moment to meet Mr. Arthur, I couldn't talk... I felt nervous.

"Matthew?" I heard my Papa ask, I looked at him, scared. He smiled at me and nodded.

"B-Bonjour... I mean, h-hello sir..." My voice reached it's highest peak. Lucille smiled at me for trying to be loud. I was normally very quiet, mainly because I barely talked, so my voice wasn't used to actually being loud. Luckily, Mr. Arthur seemed to know what I was saying.

"I have to say, Francis, you have some really behaved children. Sorry, it's just, I'm so used to Alfred. He's a bit of a brat sometimes, but I'm sure he means well... Sometimes." I could see Mr. Arthur's eyebrows moved as he talked. It was sorta intriguing.

"Thank you, mon ami. That means a lot... However, as you know, about my old problems, Lucille here did most of the raising." Papa pointed to Lucille. Arthur nodded, smiling.

"I wish Alfred would of had a sister, or brother, like you. Maybe then he would've turned out to be a little respectful." I saw Mr. Arthur grimaced.

"Um... E-Excuse me?" I started my voice barely being heard. Mr. Arthur didn't notice. Luckily, my sisters did.

"Arthur. Mattie's trying to get your attention." Michelle bounced. Why didn't she call him Mr. Arthur?

"Oh. Sorry, what is it lad?" He asked.

"I-I-Is Alfred going to be home?" I felt as though I stuttered every word. Mr. Arthur nodded.

"It is a weekend after all. And, don't worry, I've already enrolled you three into the public schools here. Matthew, you'll be with Alfred at Westvalley Grade School. Michelle you'll be at Westvalley Middle School, and Lucille will be attending Westvalley High School." Mr. Arthur said.

"Wow. Those all sound like creative names." Michelle commented, slight sarcasm showing. Mr. Arthur laughed.

"That's exactly what I said when I moved here. Don't worry, they're all good schools." Mr. Arthur settled down my worries. I know he was probably directing it towards everyone, but I felt the most secure about his promise... Well it's not a real promise, but I'm going to count that it is. I stared out the window, we were no longer in the main city part, I think we were in the suburbs now.

" _Closer to the new home..._ " I thought to myself. I was still nervous though. I've always been a nervous kid. Another reason I was picked on. I was picked on for a lot of things. I'm going to stop talking about all the things I was picked on for. After all, I'm not gonna be picked on anymore! I hope. That's when the car stopped. I froze up. We were there. We had to be. I saw Mr. Arthur open the door. I braced myself for the house. I had no idea what to expect, I really hoped it was purple... And dripped in maple syrup! Okay, maybe the second one wasn't all that realistic, but a ten year old can dream! Papa left the car, then my sisters, and finally it was my turn. I gripped onto Kuma, not sure what to expect. I slowly got out of the car, and was amazed.

"It's so big!" I exclaimed. It was an actual house. Not the little house we had lived in, crammed between two other large houses, it was a real house. I looked up at Lucille who was smiling largely. Michelle was practically bouncing up and down with happiness. Papa even seemed to have small tears in his eyes.

"Arthur... You never said it was so large..." Papa smiled. Mr. Arthur turned red, before turning around.

"I-I wanted to surprise you. That's all. Besides it's not that big." Mr. Arthur said, I didn't believe him one bit. The house was a light blue, sadly not purple, but it seemed like it was two stories. There were a lot of windows, and the lawn was amazing. The fact that Mr. Arthur's house had a lawn I found amazing. In France, we only had a sidewalk. I saw the door open, and out popped a small blonde haired boy.

"Dad!" The boy yelled, running towards Mr. Arthur. Mr. Arthur smiled, and picked the boy up.

"Ah! Hello there Al." Mr. Arthur said. I saw a girl run out of the house, following after boy.

"Oh! Mr. Kirkland!" The girl had a strange accent... Slavic? "I didn't know you would be home soon!" The girl smiled a bit nervously.

"It's alright Iryuna, here, let's get inside and I can pay you for babysitting. Alright?" Mr. Arthur smiled, the girl, I think is Iryuna, nodded. That's when Iryuna looked at me.

"Hallo! I'm Iryuna, what's your name?" Her smile was really pretty.

"M-Matthew..." I stuttered every word, Iryuna looked at me confused.

"I'm sorry sweetie, can you speak up?" Lucille came for my rescue.

"He said his name is Matthew. I'm Lucille. This is my sister, Michelle. It's a pleasure to meet you." Lucille shook Iryuna's hand. Iryuna smiled back at her.

"I'm happy to meet you! You're going into the highschool right? If you like I can show you around!" Iryuna smiled again. Lucille nodded.

"That would be nice." I was clutching Kuma in my arms, when I felt someone poke my shoulder.

"Are you Matthew?" The boy from Mr. Arthur's arms asked me. I nodded. "Cool! I'm Alfred! It's awesome to meet you!" Alfred... This was Alfred?

"Y-You're my new brother...?" I asked, quietly. Alfred looked at me confused.

"Woah. You're really quiet." He pointed out. "Hey! Dad! Is this my new brother you've told me about?" I looked at him annoyed, that's just what I asked to him. Mr. Arthur nodded.

"Yes, it is Alfred. Can you show them to their rooms? I need to talk to Francis and pay Iryuna." Mr. Arthur said, heading inside. My sisters and I looked at another. Our own rooms?

"I can't wait till you see our room Mattie! I'm kinda jealous of the girls though, they each get their own room, I'm so excited to share my room with someone!" Alfred talked really fast. Did he say that he and I were going to share a room? I mean... I guess that's okay. I looked back at Lucille and Michelle, they had seemed to understand what he was saying. They were getting their own separate rooms. Alfred led us into the house, and I was even amazed at the furniture. Everything looked so... Clean. New. It didn't look like anything was picked up off the street. Alfred walked up the stairs, I _knew_ it had two stories, and to the left, he told us that's where Mr. Arthur and Papa were going to sleep. I nodded. Then, he showed us to the right. There was a washroom and four rooms. Three bedrooms, one Study for Mr. Arthur. The two medium sized rooms were for Lucille and Michelle, then a larger room was for Alfred and I. Michelle and Lucille rushed into their new rooms, while I was timidly standing in front of Alfred's room. Our room.

"Yo' Mattie! Come on!" Alfred grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the room. I flinched as he pulled. The room was pretty. There were two sides, literally. One part of the room had blue wallpaper, the other with purple. The blue wallpaper side had airplanes, lots of toys, and a few children's books. The purple side had a large amount of books, some bean bags, and a nice little desk area.

"Merde..." I whispered, hoping Papa or my sisters didn't hear me. I wasn't allowed to cuss. Alfred smiled at me.

"You have the purple side! The bean bags were my idea, so you're welcome!" Alfred laughed, jumping onto his bed. I looked around the room. The two bookshelves were full of books I've never read before. The desk was clean and new... The bed. The bed was new. The blankets were soft and nice, not a single bug lied inside them. I couldn't help it. I started to cry.

"Whoa! Are you okay? Dad! Mattie's crying!" Alfred yelled. I heard footsteps come up the stairs, before they entered the door, along with my sisters. They too also had tears in their eyes.

"Matthew? Is everything alright?" Mr. Arthur asked. Papa smiled at me. Before I ran up to Mr. Arthur and hugged his leg.

"Merci! Merci! Merci!" I thanked him over and over, smiling through my tears. I knew he heard me because I was being louder than I usually am. He patted my head. "Merci Mr. Arthur!" I cried again, before he finally leaned down.

"Matthew, you don't have to call me Mr. Arthur..." He said calmly. I looked at him confused.

"T-Then what do I call you?" I asked, he wiped away my tears.

"How about... Dad."


	2. Chapter 2

The night was amazing. It felt so nice to sleep in a soft bed once more. At first, I thought everything was just a dream. That there was no moving to America, or having a new brother or having another adult who I could call a parent. But, when I felt the nice soft fabric of my new bed, and the purple wallpaper, I knew there was no denying it. I was in my new home. I slowly sat up, I looked over at Alfred, who was still asleep. I got off the bed, and walked towards the blinds. It was sunny. I must have been asleep for a while, after all, I did stay up pretty late. Last night, after I had given my thanks to Mr. Arth- to Dad, we had played a bunch of games, and had a wonderful dinner. There were English food, French food, and American food. I had to say, Dad didn't have that good of cooking, it was actually really bad. I had no idea how Alfred had survived with eating it. I stuck with Papa's food, I hope Dad wasn't to offended by it. I do remember a lot of laughs from my sisters and myself. It had been a while since we had anything like this. It had been a while since we last had a family dinner. We used to have it when Mama was around, but, times changed. Papa would sometimes be gone for days, and my sisters had school and work. I had school as well, and when I arrived home, I just stayed there. Sometimes I would talk to Kuma, others times... I just stayed there. I don't remember much of it, not that I really think I want to, but now everything is changing. Everyone's happy, including me, and now I have a Dad and a brother! It's amazing!

"Matthew?" I turned around from the blinds and saw my Papa. I smiled at him, before putting my fore finger up to my lips, and pointing at Alfred. Papa smiled, before motioning fro me to follow him. I tip toed towards the door, just to make sure Alfred wasn't going to wake up. I saw that is was even brighter in the hallway. Somehow, everything looked really pretty in the morning. I could see the specks of dust fluttering around the window light, and the wooden floor glistened, and it doesn't make a loud creaking noise when I walk on it!

"Matthew, come on." Papa told me as I was distracted by the house. I nodded, and followed him down the stairs. They were wooden, but with a green carpet. It wasn't a good looking carpet, but it did match the stairs. As we reached the bottom, I saw my sisters eating at the table.

"Matin, Matthew." Lucille greeted me, I smiled at her. Michelle had her face stuffed in pancakes, so she couldn't greet me.

"Matin." I said to her, she nodded, smiling greatly. I saw my plate on the table, and began to dig in, of course, after a few quick prayers. Just like Mama taught me.

"Matthew? How did you sleep last night?" Lucille asked me, her voice in her usual formal stance.

"It was really good! The bed was so soft! And there wasn't a single bug in it!" I said, taking bits of my pancakes. Best part was, they weren't even store bought. They were homemade! From scratch! Of course, I wasn't told that, but my pancake senses knew. Lucille smiled at me fondly, she did that a lot. Papa also seemed a lot more happy this morning! Usually, when he came home at night, he would be all groggy and moaney. I'm really happy for him!

"Papa, how did you sleep last night?" I asked, chowing on the awesome pancakes.

"Incroyable, I haven't slept that good in a few years." Papa said, stretching his arms a little. I smiled as I ate. Until I noticed Dad wasn't around.

"Papa? Where's Dad?"

"Hm? Oh, he's at work little Matthew. He's a police officer, he has to get to work early." Papa answered. I thought about that for a second. I knew Papa wouldn't have a job here, we just moved here, so I knew he wouldn't get a job immediately. But I never knew Dad was a officer of the law. It was kinda cool... Man, if the kids in France knew about this. No, if they knew about how I was living now, they would treat me differently. The few friends I had there, or what I called friends, would be happy for me!

As I finished my pancakes, and put my dishes in the sink, I started to explore the house. The living room was grand. There was one couch, but it was one of those cool couches that had one side that was in an angle. The table was really pretty, even though it was just a regular table. And the television, it was a flat screen. I'm not sure how big, but it hardly mattered. It was a television after all. I explored the other rooms, and they were pretty standard, but pretty as well. Until I saw the backyard. It was separated from the inside by a glass door. I rushed to find Papa.

"Papa! Papa! Can I play outside?" I begged. Papa looked at me, almost a little surprised. He nodded slightly, and I rushed upstairs to grab Kuma and my shoes. I had almost forgotten about Alfred, until I heard him rustling in bed. I giggled to myself slightly. I slowly stepped into the bedroom, grabbing the things I need, and tip-toed once more out the door, before running down the stairs, and outside. It was amazing. There was a swing set, connected to a slide. There was a large tree, sadly no tree house, but it looked really fun to climb. The grass was a little high, but it was soft. I didn't know where to start.

" _Try the swings._ " I looked down at Kuma. He always gave the best suggestions.

"Okay! Wanna swing with me?" I asked him. Kuma didn't move, but I knew he was nodding. I rushed to the swings, and placed him on one of the seats, and I started to push him. I heard him laugh.

"Isn't this awesome?" I laughed at Kuma.

" _Yeah! Yeah! Higher! Higher!_ " Kuma's mouth didn't move as he spoke, but I've grown used to that. It's his little trick. I started pushing him higher, I was amazed he was still on the swing.

" _I'm gonna jump off!_ " Kuma laughed, I nodded. Then, he fell. No, not fell, he didn't fall. He jumped. Of course, he landed on his head, but he wasn't hurt. That's the best part of being a stuffed animal. You don't feel pain. I giggled, as I helped him back up. " _That was fun! Your turn!_ " I nodded, and put him behind the swing, and I sat on it. I giggled as I started to go higher and higher.

"Who are you?" I heard a voice, at first, I thought it was Kuma, since that's a question he asked a lot, but it didn't sound like him. I looked over the large picket fence, and saw a tall boy. I almost jumped off the swing.

"M-Matthew..." I said, my voice quiet. The boy had a bit of an accent, I think, it was Russian? I've heard Russian before, so maybe?

"What did you say? Can't you speak up?" He asked, I got off the swing, picked up Kuma, and walked up to him. Maybe then he could hear me better. As I got closer, I repeated my name. He looked at me, before smiling.

"Hello Matthew. I'm Ivan. Ivan Braginsky Chernanko! It's a pleasure to meet you." The Russian boy, Ivan, continued to smile. It was a little pleasant. Though, something about it was off. "Why are you at Alfred's home?" He asked. He must be a friend of Alfred! I mean, it looks like his house is next door, so he must be a friend. That's the only conclusion.

"I'm his new brother. Matthew William Bonnefoy!" I returned his smile. Ivan seemed really nice.

"Get your butt away from my brother!" I heard Alfred yell, I turned around, and saw him stomping towards Ivan. His voice sounding angry. I looked back at Ivan, who was giving a side grin.

"But why? We were just having a pleasant conversation, isn't that right Matthew?" Ivan stopped looking at Alfred, and then to me. I didn't know what to do, so I just looked at the ground.

"See he doesn't even want to talk to you! Now, get away!" Alfred yelled again. I wanted to stop him. Ivan did seem nice, why did Alfred seem to not like him?

"Stop being mean to my brother!" I heard a small voice, coming from behind the fence. I looked behind Ivan, and I saw an angel. Okay, maybe she wasn't an angel, but she defiantly looked like one.

"Natalya? What are you doing outside?" Ivan looked at, who I would guess would be his little sister.

"Natalya..." I whispered under my breathe. It was such a pretty name. Natalya had a little dress one, a white one, and a large white bow on her little head. Her eyes were almost a shade like mine, purple, except they were lighter.

"I heard Alfred being mean to you again Big Brother! I want to help!" Natalya protested. Her voice was so pretty. I couldn't help but stare at her. She caught my sight. "Who are you looking at? Are you also hurting Big Brother?" She frowned. I quickly shook my head, before looking at the ground again. I glanced up, just a little. Even though she was at tiny, she kinda scared me.

"Little Sister, don't be mean to Matthew. He's Alfred's new brother, but I don't think he'll bring us any harm. Right Matthew?" Ivan asked me another direct question. I nodded frantically. Alfred gave me a angry glare.

"Don't be nice to him! He's evil!" Alfred hissed. I saw Ivan's smile curl, it wasn't nice looking anymore. It was scary.

"Says the boy who picks on me." Ivan smile was hollow. Alfred scrunched up his face.

"Says the boy who called me mean names and then called me useless!" Alfred growled, then I felt his hand on mine, pulling away.

"Kolkolkolkol..." I heard Ivan, laugh? Was it a laugh? It seemed more like a warning call to me. I felt the Alfred and I get farther from the fence.

"Al...?" I asked, after he gripped my hand until it started to hurt. He stopped, and turned quickly. Putting his finger in my face.

"Don't talk to that family! They're evil! I mean, well except for Iryuna, but she's different!" Alfred said, his voice filled with rage. Iryuna? Wasn't she the girl that Dad paid? Was she a babysitter? Was she related to Ivan, and Natalya?

"Why?" I asked, still confused on why the two boys don't like each other.

"Because Ivan is mean! And his little sister is no better than he is! They pick on me! Calling me mean names, like Pig! They call me Pig!" Alfred asked, his voice know full of despair. I slowly nodded. I knew what it was like to be called something other than your name. I knew that all to well.

"But, Ivan seems nice? How does that make him evil?" I asked, then regretting it.

"He's a fake nice! He's just a puppeteer, and he's trying to make you into his puppet! But, count on me little bro, I'm going to make sure you don't pulled into his string of lies." Alfred promised. I nodded. I've dealt with fakers before, but Ivan seemed a bit different. Maybe he was just that good of an actor? I mean, I trust Alfred, so he might be right on this.

"Okay. Oui. I won't become his puppet!" I smiled, hugging Kuma harshly. Alfred smiled, before running to the slide.

" _Ow! Ow! Can't breath!_ " I let Kuma down.

"Sorry Kuma. My bad... Why didn't you tell me when Alfred was here?" I asked, bending down to face him. I felt Kuma glare at me.

" _You know the rules! I only talk when you're around. No one else! Jeez._ " Kuma repeated, for what was the millionth time. I always ended up forgetting. I smiled at him, and picked him up. That's when I saw her again. Natalya, she was peering over the fence. At me. Her eyes were scanning, as if they were looking for something, or at something. I felt a shiver go down my spine, but when I looked back at her, she was gone. I felt a little sad, but then I heard Alfred call my name, and I rushed over to him, and we started to play. However, for the rest of the evening I couldn't get Natalya out of my head... I don't knew if that's weird. Maybe I just want to be good friends with her. That's probably it. Maybe I should try asking Papa about it sometimes, he acts like he knows a lot about it.

* * *

"Papa?" I asked during dinner. Luckily Dad was home, so we were eating like a family! It was awesome. Papa nodded his head, allowing me to speak. "Have you ever looked at a girl, and thought she was pretty? Like, prettier than pretty?" Papa almost looked like he would spit out his drink, and Dad looked equally shocked. Michelle and Lucille looked at each other, smiling largely. Alfred just continued to eat.

"Prettier than pretty? What do you mean Matthew?" Dad asked, as Papa was still shocked.

"Like, I really, really wanna be her friend. But I'm a little shy to ask her to be my friend..." I scuttled in my seat, I felt as though the attention was all on me, I don't like it when a lot of eyes follow me.

"Well, that means you like her." Dad stated. I looked at him, no kidding. I really liked her.

"Of course I like her, doesn't that mean we should be friends?"

"Matthew, go talk to this girl at school tomorrow. Try to be friends with her. Then go on from there, Lucille and I will help you!" Michelle giggled. Lucille nodded. Papa regained his composer, before nodding as well.

"Oui mon petite garçon! Be just who you are, and I'm sure she'll want to be your friend! That's just the first step after all." Papa winked at me. I smiled happily. I hope Natalya will want to be friends with me. I'm sure she thinks I'm weird, and she probably doesn't like me because Alfred's my new brother, but I'm pretty sure that won't matter. Alfred is cool! And, she's pretty! I hope she likes me. I started to eat a bit more quickly, wanting school to happen quickly. And the best part is, for two reasons! 1, to become friends with Natalya, and 2, it'll be my first day in American school. I wonder what it's like! I wonder how many people will be there, will some of them speak French? What about other languages, besides English? I've heard from people that America has a lot of different cultures. I'm so excited! The entire dinner was full of cheer. Dad talked about how there were some annoying 'buggers' at the office, and Lucille and Michelle were talking about what they were going to wear for tomorrow, and Alfred was trying to get Dad's attention, and failing at it, so he ended up just playing with his food. While I sat and ate quietly. I wanted to finish quickly. Maybe then, I could get a word with Kuma. I'm excited to tell him some of my plans for tomorrow. I know I won't be able to take him with me, just like in France, so I'll tell him about my day after school! I couldn't wait.

"Papa, may I be esxcused?" I asked. Papa nodded, then listened back to Dad's conversation. I smiled, and placed my dishes in the sink, before running upstairs to talk with Kuma. I opened the door, and jumped on my bed.

" _Ahh! Monster!_ " Kuma screamed. I laughed.

"I'm not a monster! I'm Matthew!"

" _Who?_ "

"Me silly!" I giggled. "I'm so excited for school tomorrow! I can't wait until it's over and I can tell you all about the amazing day I had!"

" _Aren't you getting a little ahead? What's if it's bad?_ " Kuma asked. I rolled my eyes.

"That's not going to happen! I'll make sure of it! Besides, Alfred will be there with me!"

" _About him..._ " Kuma started, I smiled at him innocently. " _I don't think you should trust him._ " I was shocked.

"Why?"

" _I've looked at his atmosphere. He doesn't seem that trustworthy. I mean, Ivan was really nice to you. Then Alfred came and ruined it. I'm not saying betray him, but you should be careful around him._ " I stared at Kuma.

"But, he's my brother?"

" _I'm not saying that he's not... But, I'm your best friend. I'm all you need to trust._ " I nodded solemnly. He was my best friend. Of course, I can always have other friends, but Kuma is my only best friend. And, I want him to be my only. After all... Some people go quicker than expected. That's what he says. I put on my pajamas, and turned off the lights. Kuma sat on my bed. His face plastered with the same face I've always seen, but it was different. Almost luring me to bed, even though that's where I was heading anyway.

"Goodnight, Kumajiro..." I yawned, tucking myself into bed, hugging Kuma.

" _Goodnight, Matthew._ " I felt something strange as he said my name, but I was just tired. There's nothing to worry about. He's my best friend after all.


	3. Chapter 3

I woke with a start. Today was the day! My first day of school! The first thing I saw when I woke up was Alfred still laying in bed. The second was a set of clothes on my new dresser. I picked the note off the shirts, after jumping out of bed, it was from Dad! " _Dear Matthew, here are some new school clothes for you. I hope you like them! - Signed Dad._ " I smiled looking at the clothes. There was a long sleeved shirt with red sleeves and a white middle, blue jeans, and a purple hoodie. They were awesome! Dad even got me sneaker! New ones! Usually, I would get my shoes either off of the street, or from my sisters. I always preferred the sisters choice.

"Matthew? Alfred? Are you two awake yet?" I heard Papa knock on the door.

"I'm awake Papa! But Alfred's still asleep... Should I wake him up?" I answered. Papa answered a 'yes'. Quickly, after getting my clothes on, I jumped onto Alfred's side, stepping away from the toys all around it. He really needed to start cleaning up. Then, I slowly, and quietly, crept up to his bed. At first, I had planned to just shake him, but my new idea sounded a lot more fun. I crawled up onto the bed, trying to not wake up Alfred too quickly, or else he'll ruin the plan. Then, I stood up. I stayed there for about a second, before I fell on top of him. He screamed as the two of us collided. I was knocked down onto the floor, but I couldn't help but laugh. He sounded like a girl!

"Mattie! That's not funny!" Alfred whined, rubbing his eyes. I grinned at him.

"Then wake up quicker next time!" I said, running downstairs, leaving behind a grumbling brother. As I settled down onto the table, this time prepared with eggs and toast, I noticed my sisters were talking. It didn't take long before I got into their conversation.

"Morning Matt!" Michelle winked at me, as she passed a bowl of eggs. They were scrambled, my favourite.

"Morning sis!"

"Oh, Matthew, are you excited for your first day of school?" Lucille asked, her voice calm like always. I nodded.

"I can't wait! I hope everyone's going to be nice! I bet American school is a lot of fun! I'm really excited to learn who my teacher is, and what subjects are being taught. I also can't wait to make new friends!" I started to ramble on, and on, about how excited I was for my first day. I couldn't help myself, my mind was losing control of my mouth. That was, until Alfred walked in.

"Mattie you meanie!" Alfred scowled at me. I grinned at him, showing him all my teeth (Except one since I lost it a month ago). Papa hid a small chuckle, and Alfred shot a glare at him. "Don't laugh! It's not funny!" Michelle and Lucille started to laugh now, and soon everyone was laughing. Even Alfred.

"Good morning Alfred. Did you sleep well?" Lucille teased. Alfred looked happy, and I guess he didn't get that Lucille was teasing.

"Actually, yeah! I had dreams about going up into space and I saw aliens! Mattie you were there too! But you got kidnapped by aliens and I had to save you!" Alfred started to rant on about his dream. Michelle was the only one paying attention.

"Oh. Boys, Girls, I think it's time that the four of you start heading out." I looked at Papa who was staring at a clock. Alfred nodded, before clearing his dishes and breaking upstairs for his gear. I followed after him, and soon so did my sisters. After a few more minutes of packing up and finishing touches, the four of us made our way outside.

"Follow me and I'll show you the bus stop!" Alfred bounced, before sprinting off. My sisters and I rushed after him, he was really fast! As we arrived to what I think was the bus stop, Alfred stopped dead in front of me. I almost crashed into him!

"Why did you stop?" I asked, looking at Alfred confused. Alfred didn't seem to be paying me much attention, I saw him glaring straight ahead of him. I followed his glare and saw Ivan, Iryuna, and Natalya. I felt myself smile as I stared at Natalya. Neither of the three had caught our glances. Lucille was the first to interact with the other siblings.

"Good morning Iryuna!" Lucille walked over to the eldest sister. Iryuna smiled at her, and the two began to talk. I looked over to see what Michelle was going to do, now that the other siblings were looking at us, but I saw Michelle frozen. Her face was like a tomato. Ivan walked up to us. I noticed Alfred's muscles tense.

"Morning." Ivan smiled at us, giving a little wave. I sheepishly gave him a small wave back, hoping Alfred wasn't going to glare at me.

"M-Matin! I mean, morning!" Michelle stuttered. I stared at her confused. She never stuttered, except for when she was talking to fast, and she was defiantly talking slowly. Ivan looked at her.

"You must be Matthew's older sister. It's nice to meet you. I'm Ivan. Ivan Chernenko." Ivan smiled, it seemed calm. I saw Michelle's face turn even more red, before the two shook hands.

"Michelle. Michelle Bonnefoy... But, ah, you can call me Michy, if you like..." Michelle said, her head staring at the ground. Now I was even more confused, until I saw Natalya. She was staring daggers at us, but I couldn't help but smile at her. She quickly looked away.

"Morning Natalya," I said, walking up to her, before my arm was tugged. "W-What?" I quickly asked, looking to see who tugged on my arm. Alfred looked really angry.

"Don't talk to them!" He hissed. "They're evil! Don't you get it? E V I L." I got scared at the edge in Alfred's voice. I remember what Kuma told me last night, that maybe I shouldn't trust Alfred, but, he seemed to serious. I nodded, and Alfred let go of my arm. I glanced up at Natalya, who was also staring at me. I looked away, hoping that Alfred didn't pull on my arm again. I blanked out as my sisters began to talk with the Chernenkos'. I felt a pang of jealousy. Why could they talk to them, but I can't? It's not fair... But then again, nothing really is. As I was being a bit grouchy, the bus came up and the seven of us began to get on the bus. As I was climbing on the bus, I saw three figures running. They were yelling.

"Wait! Wait! Aspettare! Aspettare!" One of the figures yelled. He seemed old. As the figures came up, I noticed they all had one thing in common, on their hair, they had a single curl. Not like, curly hair, it was a few strands of hair shaped in a curl, almost like mine, however, they didn't have a little curve on theirs. It was just... A curl. I saw the bus driver took something as a small smile as the three boys ran up. By this time, I was already on the bus, sitting alone. I was near the front when I heard them talk.

"Scusate! Sorry Mr. Hassan!" The oldest boy huffed as he walked onto the bus. The bus driver, Mr. Hassan, only nodded. The three boys got on, and one of them sat next to me.

"Ciao!" The boy said, smiling at me. I smiled back at him. I think he was saying 'hi'? Should I say 'hi' in French? English?

"B-Bonjour!" I said, deciding on French. It would at least be a good idea to say hello to people in my native tongue.

"Oh! You speak French? Like Emma!" The boy bounced up and down in his seat. I had no idea who this Emma was, but, if she spoke French, I guess that's a good sign. The boy stuck out his hand. "I'm Feliciano! Feliciano Vargas! Nice to meet you!" I took his hand.

"I'm Matthew. Matthew Bonnefoy. It's nice to meet you too!" We exchanged names, and we started talking. I learned that the older boy was his brother, Romeo, and the other boy was his twin brother, Lovino.

"Lovino's older than me by two minutes, he likes to say he's smarter because of it. I think he's really smart! But he's... Kinda... Not. Well, at some things." Feliciano explained. I nodded. Alfred seemed kinda like that. No offense to him. "Lovino is also friends with my other friends, Gilbert and Antonio! Although, Lovino keeps saying he really doesn't like Gilbert, I always catch him playing with him!" Feliciano said. All I could do was listen, since I really didn't have any import. "Oh! I was being a little rude, Lovino and Romeo sometimes say I talk to much. So, how about you? Since you're new, and French, are you from France?" Feliciano asked. I nodded.

"Brest, France. It's a little far from Paris, but it's pretty large." I said. "It wasn't all that fun. Though, I did have my sisters and Papa with me."

"You have sisters? What are their names?" Feliciano asked.

"My eldest sister's name is Lucille, my big sister is Michelle." I said, a small smile on my face.

"That's so cool! I wish I had sisters... My friend's cousin has a sister, and she's really cute! Her name's Erika! I want a sister... But my Mamma and Papa keep saying no." Feliciano sighed. I chuckled a bit, it was nice to have sisters. Though, they were a little annoying at times.

"So, um, Feliciano?" I started, Feliciano smiled at me. "T-There's no, bullies, at school... Right?" I felt a little silly, but I needed to ask. Feliciano closed his eyes, thinking hard.

"No... I don't think so. I mean, sometimes Ivan comes out during recess and scares everyone, but no real bullies..." Feliciano thought for another moment, before shaking his head with a smile. "Nope! No bullies!" I let out a sigh of relief. "Why?"

"N-No reason! I was just wondering! Since, a lot of books have bullies!" I tried to cover up. It worked. Feliciano nodded.

"I remember my first day of school here! It was a year ago! Though, I did used to live here when I was in pre-school, but, then we had to move. But my family moved back last year, and I returned! A lot of my old friends changed, like Gilbert! He used to be a bit more quiet, but now he's super loud! Really loud! And his brother, Ludwig, he's a little shy, but he's really nice! Kinda stern, but nice!" Feliciano went to ramble on about his old friends, new friends, and everything in between. I didn't mind all that much. It was at least nice to know some of the people's names before hand. Well, to know names, I don't really know what they look like.

"Yo, Fratellino." I heard an Italian voice say behind us. I looked over, and it was Feliciano's twin, Lovino. I could tell because they looked alike.

"Si?" Feliciano seemed to ask.

"It's almost time to get off the bus, get packed, or else I'm leaving you behind." Lovino scowled. Feliciano looked a bit scared, and started to pack up his backpack, and by packing, it was just making sure everything zipped up and he had it on his back. I decided to do the same with mine. It was only a few minutes later that the bus stopped. The moment it stopped, and I heard to doors swing open, kids started to pile up into the alley, I was one of the lucky ones to quickly grab a spot, while those unlucky ones were left to wait until everyone else was off the bus, unless of course, their friends stopped the line of them. Or they managed to push themselves into the line.

"Mattie! Mattie! Come on!" Alfred said, at the steps of the bus waiting for me. I nodded, taking in the sight of the school. It wasn't as big as the one in France, but it could certainly be called large. There were a few steps leading up to the front door, along with a large mosaic art piece on the ground, in front of the door, shaped like a rhinoceros. It actually looked really cool.

"Rien the Rhinoceros is our school mascot! She's awesome!" Alfred said, pointing at the mosaic. I smiled. Rien the Rhinoceros. That's a pretty name. Alfred lead me into the building, and immediately I was hit with a large swarm of kids. Some younger, and... Older? Did older kids also go here? I looked over confused at Alfred.

"Do older kids come here? Why are they here?" I was starting fifth grade, which, last I checked in America, if meant the final grade in elementary. Alfred shook his head.

"No. They don't go here. They just help around with Buddy Reading and helping teachers for extra credit." Alfred said. I stared at the kids around me. Some looked nice. "Come on, we have to head to our classroom! I can't wait for you to meet Mr. Oxensternia! He's the best! Ever!" Alfred laughed, grabbing my wrist, something that I've grown used too, and pulled me towards his- our classroom. As we entered, after going up a set of stairs, I saw all the kids. Well, most of them. I still think there was a few running behind. I saw a very, _very_ tall man. I froze. Alfred, still gripping my wrist, nudged me towards the tall man.

"Mr. O! Mr. O!" Alfred smiled. The tall man looked at us. I felt as though I was getting smaller, and smaller. I looked down at the ground. "This is my new brother! Matthew!" Alfred said. My head hung down, a little embarrassed to look at the tall man. A han,d slowly crept from underneath my nose. I finally looked up and saw the tall man on his knees, a very small smile on his face.

"Nice to m''t you Matt'w." His words were a little strange, but I understood them.

"N-Nice to meet you..." I said shyly, taking the man's hand.

"My name is Mr. Oxensternia, b't, everyone h'r' just calls m' Mr. O." Mr. O explained. No wonder Alfred called him Mr. O. I don't get why I didn't get that immediately. "Matthew, I'll introduce y'' to the cl'ss once it's 'n session... Ok'y?" Mr. O asked. I froze again. Introduce? To the whole class? I wanted to shake my head, but I didn't. I nodded, before rushing away from both my brother and new teacher and into a seat. I was dredding the final moments of the class knowing me... I mean, with everything that happened in France, I was a little scared of school. Well, not school itself, just the kids in it. Maybe except for my sisters and Alfred, and maybe Feliciano, but, that's it. Maybe Natalya? Wait, yes, no? I confuse even myself at times.

"Hey Mattie!" Alfred smiled, coming up to me, I faked a smile. "Why did you run all of a sudden?" He asked, sitting on a chair next to me. I shrugged. "You don't have a zombie infection do you? If you do, please don't turn me!" Alfred whined. I couldn't help but laugh at that. Alfred was a bit silly. "See! You're smiling! You must have it!" Alfred continued. I laughed harder.

"Non, Alfred, I don't have a zombie virus!" I clarified. Alfred immediately stopped panicking.

"Oh! Okie dokie!" His regular smile returned quickly. I smirked at his silliness. "Class is gonna start. We gotta be quiet!" Alfred put his index finger up to his lips, making a 'shh' sound. I realized, my nerves were gone. Alfred must have taken them away. I was going to have to thank him later for that. He's an awesome brother. Alfred and I continued to whisper to each other, until Mr. O began to speak.

"Good m'rning class. I h'pe you all had a wonderful weekend!" Mr. O said. Everyone either nodded or said they did. "I know we usually do sharing 'n Mondays, h'wever, w' have a n'w student joining us today. Matthew please c'm' up here." Mr. O said, his voice sounding friendly. I shuffled up into the front of the class. Some of my nerves reappearing. I looked around my class. I saw Feliciano, and his twin brother, Alfred, Natalya, and the rest I didn't know. There was a boy with blonde hair, sitting next to Feliciano, a black haired boy next to them, a dark skinned kid with dreadlocks, they looked kinda cool to be honest, a girl with a red headband in her hair, a messy brown haired boy sitting next to Feliciano's twin brother, and a girl with long brown hair with purple flowers in them, who was talking to an albino girl with really long white hair, and a lot more. There had to be at least twenty kids.

"Matthew, why don't y'' intr'duce yourself?" Mr. O asked, letting me have the stage. I took a deep breathe.

"B-Bonjour!" I started off, I saw the girl with the red headband perk up. "My name is Matthew Bonnefoy, and I used to live in France." I was a little shocked that most of the students heard me, maybe over the weekend, my voice must have gotten used to talking more. A few hands shot up. I looked over at Mr. O confused.

"You can pick on a student and hear their question, and answer it." Mr. O said. I nodded, and pointed at the albino girl.

"Do you have any bruders or sisters?" She asked. I nodded. I could tell what "bruders" meant because she had said "sisters" next. Though, it was a bit unusual. I've never heard "brothers" said that way.

"I have two sisters, Lucille and Michelle, and a new brother, Alfred!" I smiled. I saw her look confused. Another hand shot up.

"Um, yes?" I said, pointing to the new hand, which was the boy with the dreadlocks.

"How are you related to... _that_?" The boy asked, pointing a glare at Alfred, who only stuck his tongue out.

"R-Related? We're not blood related. My Papa said that Alfred's my brother. And, Alfred's dad said I could call him Dad." I explained. Mr. O looked at me, I could sense a small smile. I chose another hand, the girl with the red hairband.

"What part of France are you from?" She asked, smiling.

"Brest." I answered.

"My Mama's from Paris! My dad's from Belgium!" The girl said. Mr. O seemed a little amused.

"One question per student Emma." The girl, Emma, looked innocently at Mr. O.

"It wasn't a question! It was a comment!" Emma grinned. Mr. O sighed, but appeared to have let it go. This must have been the Emma Feliciano mentioned. A few more questions passed, some of which were really easy, like the brown haired girl with purple flowers asked me what was my favourite food, which I answered Pancakes. The albino girl immediately agreed. I kept looking at Natalya, hoping that maybe she would ask me a question. But, she kept staring at me. After a few more questions, Mr. O stopped the introduction.

"I hope you 'll w'll be nice to Matthew. And, g've him a warm w'lcome here." Mr. O turned to me. "Please t'ke your seat M'tthew." Mr. O told me. I nodded, my face neautral, even though I was feeling really happy. I was excited to meet everyone else, by names, and hopefully make a lot of friends! However... I stared at Natalya, as Mr. O began to take role. I was paying attention to every name. The albino girl is Julchen, the brown haired girl with purple flowers is Anneliese, the dreadlocks boy is Wuan, the black haired boy was Kiku, the blonde next to Feliciano was Ludwig, the boy next to Feliciano's twin brother, Lovino, was Antonio, and more names flooded in. I think Natalya caught my glance because she started to glare at me, sending shivers down my spine. I quickly turned away. I really hope she'll be my friend... Maybe, I'll ask her later. I tuned Mr. O back in, and started to learn.


	4. Chapter 4

Mr. O was amazing! He was really nice to me, and to the rest of the students. I guess he was being a little soft on me since I was new. Which I didn't mind.

"Mattie!" I heard Alfred whisper to me, I smiled at him. We were working on math problems, and Mr. O didn't mind if we talked, as long as it was about the subject. Or what Alfred told me anyhow.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Help me!" He whimpered with a pout. I smiled. We were doing multiplication, something that I was a little good at. I looked over at his paper, and dang, he was doing the problems wrong. No wonder he was having difficulties.

"You did it wrong... Here, let me show you." I said, writing on his paper. A kid next to us snickered. Wuan, I think. Alfred glared over at him.

"Why you laughing?" He asked. Wuan smirked at him.

"Oh, nothing much chico, just, you're an idiot." Wuan returned Alfred's glare. I stared at the two confused. From Alfred's eyes I could tell the two of them weren't friends. Like Ivan.

"What did you just say?" Alfred snipped. Wuan shrugged and sighed.

"Looks like the idiot is deaf too! Who knew!" Wuan gave a large smirk. I stared at Wuan, who caught my eye. His smirk vanished and looked at Alfred, then back to me.

"Matthew right?" Wuan asked, I nodded. "Didn't you say that the two of you were adoptive brothers? Or something like that?" Wuan asked, tilting his head a little. I nodded again. "Why do you two look like twins then?" Wuan asked. I blinked at him, staring at Alfred. Alfred did the same. Twins? We didn't look that much alike, did we?

"I... I didn't know we looked alike." I shrugged. Wuan stared harder.

"You aren't like this idiot, are you?" Wuan asked. I stared at him, a little bit, what's the word? Offense? Yeah? Wait that's French... Offense... Offense... Offended! I felt a little offended!

"N-Non! I mean! Alfred's not an idiot!" I stammered. Wuan raised an eyebrow at me.

"Of course he is!" Wuan argued. Alfred looked about ready to burst.

"Could you two stop bickering? You both are idiots..." I heard someone say behind me. It was Lovino.

"No one asked your opinion Lovino. Besides, you think everyone's an idiot." Wuan rolled his eyes.

"I know no one asked for my opinion, but if you keep up this racket, Mr. O is going to wonder what the hell's going on." Lovino spat, looking annoyed. Did, did he just say a forbidden word?

"I'm gonna tell Mr. O You said a bad word!" Wuan claimed. Now it was Lovino's turn to roll his eyes.

"Do whatever you want you bastardo. I don't really f'ing care." Lovino grimaced, "Just stop your stupid bickering, stupidi idioti..." Lovino muttered. Wuan and Alfred glared each other again, before returning to their work. I was going to continue on helping Alfred, but, then he said he didn't want it. I sighed, returning to my own work.

After math, we had a bit of language arts, or how they call it, and it was fun. We got to read books! And do some writing. After that was writing workshop! It was full of making story prompts, we could have worked in partners, but Alfred went to work with Feliciano, since they had already started a prompt from the week before, and I wanted to work with Natalya, but I was too scared to go near her. I was almost done with my story, when Mr. O said for us to put out materials away n ur desks, and get into a straight line at the door. I heard a few kids snickering and talking. Mr. O led us out the door and into the large halls. I saw the younger kids going out too. Then I remembered the time. Lunch. We were heading to lunch! I was a bit hungry. I wonder what type of food they served in America? In France we would have fruits, meat, and sometimes sweets! I've heard that American school Lunch is like French school lunches, except that the types of food made is different. Mr. O would sometimes look back at our class to make sure that none of the kids were whispering among each other. It was a pretty straight forward way to the lunch room, we just had to go down a few flights of stairs, then taking a left, and bam! Lunch. As we made it to the lunch room, that's when everyone else started to talk.

"You're lucky new kid!" I heard someone say behind me. I turned around, and it was the albino girl, Julchen. "You don't have to experience the terrible meat loaf or the disgusting tuna salad on your first day of school! I did!" Julchen whimpered. I didn't know what to do, so I just gave an awkward smile.

"Um? Sorry?" I said. Julchen looked at me, her whimpering gone and replaced with a smile.

"Wow! You're polite! Unlike Anneliese! She's polite to everyone else, but me. I think that's what makes us great friends!" Julchen chuckled. I blinked a few times before chuckling too.

"Merci! My big sisters taught me how to be nice to people, well, for those who deserve it!" I said. Julchen crossed her arms and nodded.

"Exactly! I like you New Kid!" Julchen said, a little loud. "You're gonna be my friend!" Julchen proposed. I smiled and nodded. My first friend! Well, other than Feliciano. We started to talk in the line, and I learned a few things from her. She had a younger sister, and she came from Germany. She didn't have a father, but she loved her mother.

"I've never met my Papa, and I don't think I ever want to! He left my Mama and me! Along with Monika! No way would I ever want to meet him!" Julchen said in a matter-of-fact voice. I gave a sad smile.

"Back in France it was just Papa, my sisters, and I. My Mama, she... She..." I paused. It wasn't a good memory. And it defiantly wasn't the best. "She's not here anymore." I said slowly, staring at nothing. Mama had died in a fire. It wasn't a good fire. No one knew how it started. I didn't want to. Mama was screaming. I heard her screaming. I saw her burning. When we had got home, the fire had started five minutes before, so Mama was stuck. Papa tried to block our views, but I saw Mama. I saw Mama. I saw Mama burning. I saw-

"Matthew!" Julchen yelped. I blinked slowly, realizing I was on the ground. When had I fallen? I started to get back up, when I noticed a teacher by my side. It wasn't Mr. O.

"Woah buddy, stay there for a second." The teacher said. I looked at him confused. I noticed some of the other kids were looking at me, a little scared. What had happened? "Are you okay?" The teacher asked.

"Oui..." I said. "Qu'est-il arrive? Que se passe-t-il?" I stammered. I hadn't realized I was speaking French.

"Emma, come here!" The teacher called for the French girl. Emma walked up slowly. "What did he say?" The teacher asked.

"He said 'What happened? What's going on?'..." Emma stammered, looking as if she didn't want to be standing there. I looked at everyone confused. The teacher then held my hand, helping me get up, a little too slowly for my liking though.

"I don't know what happened buddy, I just know that you fell, and Julchen here started to freak out." The teacher said. I got a good look at his face. He was wearing a mask. He also had a bit of facial hair.

"Who are you?" I asked, a little dizzy from standing up. The teacher sighed, and gave me a little smile.

"I'm Mr. Adnan. I teach the second graders." The teacher, Mr. Adnan, said. I looked at the ground.

"Where are we gong?" I asked.

"We're going to the nurses office. I wanna make sure nothing happened to your head when you fell. It looked like it hurt." Mr. Adnan said. The two left the lunch room, and Matthew could feel people staring at him. He saw Alfred out of the corner of his eye, he looked worried. I looked past the halls as I was led into the nurses office. It was like a doctor's office, but smaller. I saw a woman there, with blonde hair in small ponytails.

"Oh! Bonjour Sadik!" She smiled. I looked at her in surprise. She spoke French? She looked at me. "Who is this?" She asked.

"It's the new student, Matthew. He fell all of a sudden, almost like passing out, in the Lunch Room. I took him here to make sure he was alright." Mr. Adnan explained. The nurse smiled at me.

"Hi! I'm Madeline Williams, but you can just call me Maddy. I was never really a fan of being called "Ms"." Nurse Maddy smiled. I smiled back at her. "Okay sweetheart, just sit up there, and I'll do some normal nurse things. Okay?" I nodded, sitting up on the weird doctor bed thingy. I stared at her. She was kinda pretty. She also had two leafs in her hair.

"Are you from France?" I asked, tilting my head. Maddy looked at me a littel confused, before chuckling.

"Non. I come from Canada. Why? Are you from France?" She asked. I nodded. "Nice. I guess my little 'bonjour' made you think I was from France, huh?" She asked. I nodded. "That's cute. But, nope. I speak Canadian French. My parents moved here when I was eight, so I was already fluent in both languages." She sighed, looking annoyed. "You have no idea how many kids would call me French Fry." She gave a glance to Mr. Adnan. "This guy was one of them..." Maddy said, giving a friendly glare to Mr. Adnan, who only raised his hands in the air, like he was surrendering.

"Hey! That's not fair! Bringing up the past like that!" Mr. Adnan chuckled. They almost acted like Mama and Papa did.

"Are you two married?" I asked, innocence in my voice. The two adults looked at me shocked, before looking at each other, and laughing.

"Non! We are not together... After all, Sadik here already has a wife." Maddy said. Mr. Adnan nodded.

"Yep. Prettiest thing I've ever seen." Sadik chuckled, before grimacing. "Except for when she accidentally brings in stray cats and want to keep them." Maddy giggled, and so did I.

"Now, Mr. Adnan, if you could please exit so I can check up on Matthew please. I don't want any distractions." Maddy smiled at the masked teacher. Mr. Adnan nodded, and left the room. She turned to me and cracked her knuckles. "Alright. Let's begin." She did a few checks near my head, to make sure it wasn't bleeding, or anything like that, then she ehcked to make sure that I hadn't had a seizure, or anything like that. She stared at me, for a second, taking down notes. "Sweetheart, before you fell, or came here, what were you thinking about?" She asked. I thought for a moment.

"My Mama." I shrugged. She nodded, writing it down.

"Where is your mama?" Maddy asked. I pointed to the ceiling.

"Up there." I said. Maddy gave me a sad glance, before writing it down.

"When did she go up there?" Maddy asked.

"Five years ago." I answered, my voice becoming more monotone with each word. She nodded.

"Sweetheart, can... Can you tell me how?" I froze. Lucille never wanted me to talk about it. It was a secret. A big secret. I shook my head. I stared at Maddy, fear overcoming my thoughts. Can I even trust her? Kuma said not to trust Alfred... So maybe I can't trust her? Kuma has to be right? Right? I mean, Kuma's always right about everything.

"That's okay. Nothing to bad so far, just, be careful, okay? I'm sorry about you having to skip lunch, but here's some sweets you can have." Maddy winked at me. "Don't tell anyone else, oui?" Maddy smirked at me. I smiled at her largely.

"Oui!" I said, taking a few lollipops and tootsie rolls. I walked out of the office, and she led me outside, where a few kids were playing on a large playset. Julchen and Alfred were the first two to run towards me.

"Mattie! Are you okay?" Alfred asked, freaking out.

"Matthew! Was it my fault? Was my awesome aura too much?" Julchen asked, freaking out too. I smiled at the two, even though I didn't feel happy, and shook my head. The two calmed down, and smiled.

"Hey Mattie! We're playing hide and seek! Wanna play?" Julchen asked, pointing back to a few of the other kids in my class. I nodded, running with Alfred and Julchen to the other children. Feliciano waved at me.

"Ciao Matthew!" Feliciano greeted. I waved back.

"So who's counting?" Emma asked, looking around the group of children. Alfred immediately put one of his fingers up to his nose.

"Not it!" He yelped. One after another, the other kids started to do it. All except for me. I knew the whole "not it" thing, I just never knew these kids could do it so fast.

"You're it Matthew!" Julchen said, before running off.

"Make sure you count to twenty!" Anneliese said, smiling, and running off. I nodded, and closed my eyes. I decided to count in French, since it was a little easier to remember then the English numbers. After hitting Vingt, or Twenty, I started to run across the playground. Looking for any signs of anyone in my grade. There were kids in all grades, some were looking at me curiously, as if they wanted to ask me something, but they never did. I was in the zone, when I spotted a purple flower with brown hair hiding behind a tree. I smirked, and ran over.

"Found you!" I said happily, pointing at Anneliese. She grimaced, before making her way out of the tree, her purple dress trailing after her. I smiled at her, before running off to find the other kids. I found Feli and Lovi hiding in a large group of younger kids who had agreed to help hide them. I left them, hearing Lovi calling Feli dumb. I found Ludwig behind this small shed that was near the playground. Julchen was hiding _in_ a tree, I was a little surprised I had actually found her. It was a really good spot. Emma was hiding in a small tube that was part of a zip line. Now all that was left was Wuan and Alfred. I searched all around the playground, I even looked off of the playground, but I couldn't find them at all. I continued to search, the other kids I found also helped, but Wuan and Alfred couldn't be seen at all. I was growing a little worried. It was only a game of hide and seek? Nothing bad was happening! Why was I getting worried? I bite my lip. That's when I heard it. I heard a voice. No... Two voices.

"Get out of here!" It was Alfred's voice. I looked around, trying to locate it. The other kids heard it too.

"Vete, muchacho estupido!" Wuan's voice. That's when I saw them. They were hiding on the side of the school's walls, well, not on them, but close to them. I let out a sigh of relief, and rushed over to them, ready to scare them.

"You're not supposed to go back there..." I stopped in my place to look at Natalya, her eyes emotionless. I stared at her confused.

"Why not? Al and Wuan are over there?" I pointed out. She shook her head.

"The bad spirits are over there. Children who died because of stupid adults." Natalya said. I looked at her in fear.

"Bad... Spirits?" I asked. She nodded. "Are Al and Wuan in trouble?" I asked, panicking. She nodded.

"There's nothing you can do for them. One of the spirits have already claimed them. A little girl who thinks they're cute. She wants them to play with her." Natalya said. I was terrified.

"Stop scaring him you creep!" Julchen said, coming up to us. Natalya looked at the girl with disgust. "Don't listen to her Matthew! She's a weirdo! I bet you she's saying that there are "bad spirits" over there! She's lying! She's just trying to scare you!" Julchen said, turning to me. I looked at the two of them, in confusion. Who to believe? Should I believe any of them? I mean, Julchen was my friend! But I also wanted to be friends with Natalya! I backed up from the two, before running over to Wuan and Alfred.

"Found you two!" I yelled, running towards the two boys, trying to win the game. Wuan was the first to turn to me.

"Dang it! You stupid idiot! We wouldn't have been found if it wasn't for you!" Wuan yelled at Alfred. Al was angry.

"My fault? Why did you even decide to hide with me!" Alfred yelled. Something bad was going to happen, I could feel it. I got in between them.

"C-Calm down!" I said, worry started to pour into me. A lot of worry. Alfred seemed to be calming down, but not Wuan.

"Get out of my way!" He yelled, pushing me to the ground. I sat on the ground, for a moment, before realizing it wasn't grass. It was concrete. I opened my eyes to see Papa had pushed me back into the street. Non... Non... Not again! Not again! The house was on fire. I saw Mama. I saw her thru the window, she was screaming and looking at us. Papa called the firefighters and police. I sat there in panic, clutching onto the polar bear that Mama had just given me. Luci and Michy were panicking too. They were screaming and crying. Papa was crying too. He turned his back on Mama, trying to grab onto Luci, Michy and I. Trying to shield our eyes. It didn't work on me. I could still see her. Mama was screaming. She was burning. The house was on fire. Then it stopped. I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. I couldn't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't breathe! I can't-! I can't-!

"Mattie! Mattie!" I could hear screaming. Who was...? "Mattie wake up! Please! Mattie!" Was it...? Alfred...? Who was Alfred? Oh, yeah. He was my new brother.

"Matthew!" This time it was a female voice. Julchen. One of the first friends I made. "Go away Wuan! You did this to him! Go away!" Wuan? Oh, the boy being mean to Alfred.

"Move! Give him space!" I heard Mr. Adnan. What was going on? I slowly opened my eyes. Why had they been closed? I could feel my cheeks were wet. Had I been crying? Why was a crying? People were gathering next to me. I could see Wuan behind Mr. Adnan, guilt layered on his face. He was panicking.

"Matthew? Are you alright?" Mr. Adnan asked. I shrugged.

"Je... Je ne sais pas..." I said slowly, before jumping up. The force made my head dizzy. "Ou est maman? Le feu! Le feu! Oh mon Dieu! Le feu!" I started screaming, clutching my head, tears falling from my face. "Faites que le feu s'arrete!" I wanted it to stop! Everything was on fire. I could slowly feel myself falling backwards, into the flames. I don't want to fall. I don't want to fall! Make it stop! Make it stop!

"He's... oh gosh..." I heard a girl say. Emma. The other French speaker. "He's saying something about his mama! And... and fire..." Emma said the last word quietly. I stopped falling. Someone was behind me, picking me up. I felt tears mixing with my own.

"Mattie...! Please... you're scaring me..." Alfred cried, holding onto me. I blinked a few times, the flames were gone. All that was before me was my classmates panicking, and Mr. Adnan looking worried. I looked up to see Alfred holding onto me. He was crying. Did I make him cry? I held my hand up to his face, suddenly feeling really tired.

"S-Sorry, for making you cry..." I gave a weak smile, I hadn't even realized I was speaking English. Luckily I was. Alfred gave a slight smile.

"Don't say sorry!" He chuckled. I smiled at him, before my eyes began to take control and close... I fell asleep.

* * *

I woke up in Maddy's office. I tried to get up, when I felt a hand put my chest down.

"Is he alright?" Papa? Was Papa here? I looked to my left and there was Papa, his arms crossed. Maddy's hand was on my chest.

"Oui. I believe so. I just, you should take him for a checkup. He might have it." Maddy said, looking at my Papa. I smiled at Papa.

"Bonjour Papa!" I said, before stopping. My voice... It was quiet. Like it was before meeting Alfred and Dad. Papa looked over at me, giving me a soft smile.

"Bonjour Matthew... How are you doing?" He asked.

"Tired... Papa? What happened?" I asked. Why was I in Maddy's office, wasn't I just here? Before going out? I... I don't remember what happened after that. Papa looked at me, his eyes solemn.

"I'm not sure." Papa sighed, turning back to Maddy. "Are you sure he has it? I mean, I understand how..." Papa asked. Maddy nodded.

"I'm sure of it... But have him visit a doctor. That way you can know for sure. With what you told me, from your past, it makes sense." Maddy said. Papa looked back at me. I smiled at him.

"Come on Matthew, let's go home." He said. I looked at him confused.

"But what about school?" I asked. Was it over? But! It was just lunch!

"You don't have to worry about that, Alfred it bringing home your work. He's a good brother." Papa said. I nodded, and took his hand. Maddy let go of my chest, and I was allowed off the bed/bench thingy. I jumped off, and looked at my Papa happily. He tried to smile back. We walked past my classroom, since it was near Maddy's room. I looked inside, and saw Natalya staring at me. Directly. It was as if she was waiting for me to walk past. I gave her a smile. She didn't return it. She just kept looking into my eyes, following them. I gave a wave. And soon, Papa and I were on our way home. I was a little sad that I didn't complete the day, but that was okay. I get to tell Kuma what happened! And, what I can't remember! Maybe he can provide some information! No matter where I am, Kuma knows exactly what's going on! He's magic. I look out the window, happy. Maybe, Kuma wasn't the only person who can give me information! Maybe I'll ask Alfred! I bet he wouldn't mind!

* * *

 **Can any of you guess what Matthew has? And why he would need to go to a doctor to have it checked? By the way, I'm not fluent in Spanish or French, I've been using Google Translate. So my apologies if any of the words are in correct. If you fluent in any of these languages that I write, please, correct me. I truly don't mind it. I hope you enjoyed the ride so far! Since now... The interesting bits are coming into play. See you later, loves~**

 **\- CalinaCrafter**


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